Hey all,
I'm interested in a 2002 F150 crew cab with the 5.4L.
It has roughly 230,000 km (140,000 miles) on it. He's asking 2500 CAD(~1900USD).

Basically before I head in to look at it, I was wondering if there is any model/year specific "problem" areas I should pay close attention to.

I haven't been to see it yet since the guy isn't currently in town, but when i asked if it has any known issues he only mentioned that it "occasionally wants to die while idling".
Pure speculation on my part suspects a dirty IAC valve since its apparently intermittent which would be a simple fix. I'm expecting other possible issues for that price, but I've got no problem putting in wrench time.

Apart from that and the obvious undercarriage/brakes/suspension component inspections, anything I should definitely ask about, feel for during the test drive, or look at specific to that year/model? I'll also be taking my OBD reader to see if there's any stored codes.

Thanks in advance.

 

Ask how long ago the plugs were changed and if COPS were changed. If cops were changed what brand. Ask if it ever blew out a plug. Look to see if it is leaking oil from the head gasket area on the fender side of the heads. Sometimes with high mileage the gasket between the oil passage and the outside of the head fails enough to leak a bit of oil. Transmission fluid change date.
Look to see if the overhead console works
Look to see if the odometer is showing the numbers. Sometimes they go dark and a solder joint has to be repaired

 

Is there any brands of COPs I should stay away from? Fairly certain they'll have never been changed but in case they are I should know what's considered bad/good, right. I'm assuming Denso and Motorcraft are the two most acceptable?

Yeah biggest thing I read about was the plugs blowing out. Is there any way to tell if a plug has blown out from a visual inspection? Like maybe damage to the hood (I'm not sure just how "violent" these ejections are)?
Essentially I'm worried it may be the 3rd or 4th owner and they may not have asked that question to the previous owner(s).

If it's leaking oil from the headgasket should i expect to see oil in the coolant or vice versa as well?

Also have my suspicion that the ATF fluid may have not be changed in a long time if ever so I'll be checking and smelling that. People up here tend to sway from basic maintenance because they've no idea how to do it themselves and because of the sheer cost of shop hours being usually over 120/hour and more at the dealers.

Thanks I appreciate it.

 

I agree with what Roadie mentioned. Only to add to crawl under it and check for leaks and excessive rust. I have not had this issue with my 02' , but seen it mentioned from others to check the radiator mounts on the frame & rear leaf spring mounts.

IF... there has been a spark plug "launch". It is not the end of the world if it has been done correctly. That means absolutely NO "heilicoil" repairs. Time-sert have proven to be very reliable. IF the spark plug ejection is severe enough or repeated in the same location the a new /rebuilt head is the fix.

As far as the COP's go, yes, you're right on target with brands. I'd add Viston to a quality replacement. These are a European Ford supplier and were pretty economical option, the last I checked they were not much different from MC price wise. Also the after market COP's of MSD seem to very reliable too.

The other side of the coin, so to speak, with the COPs is some take the notion that if one can get say 24 COPs for the price of one quality set, then swap out whenever they go bad ,so be it. They feel that they are still money ahead. These folks tend not be concerned with time spent under the hood, ( I'm not saying that time under the hood is entirely a bad thing). The issue is some of these "economical" COPs is that they can have pretty short life spans, months not years. As far as name brands in this category that tend to come up often, Accel is one and pretty much anything made in China.

I would suggest to change ALL fluids! yes, include brake and power steering. Especially if maintenance is lack luster. As with the tranny Most agree not to Power flush an older tranny but rather to just drain replace the filter and fluid. The 02' may or may not have a drain on the torque converter, if so, then drain it as well when changing trans fluid.

When I got my 02' a few years back it had 136k miles it & was similar to your prospect, it had 3-4 previous owners. Now it sits at almost 188k and has been nearly trouble free. I just replaced the factory Alternator. I did swap out ALL fluids and a spark plug change shortly after adding it to my fleet. It still has original water pump, power steering, & A/C and front suspension remain largely original except for shocks, swaybar links, brakes and wheel bearings. I don't put a lot of miles on per year but have taken it on couple of 1500 mile trips.

hope that helps ...

 

Well my parts sources are essentially limited to canadian tire (overpriced and mostly crappy parts) or local parts stores and rockauto. Essentially I'll be getting everything from rockauto.
As far as COP, I built my own COP setup using denso's on my evo which stock came with only 2 coils feeding 4 cylinders. Denso has, in my experience, been an exceptional ignition system brand, and almost half the price of motorcraft on rockauto.

Being a mechanic (not automotive, but still a mechanic) by trade has conditioned me to do "preventative maintenance". Flushing EVERY fluid is something I've done with every vehicle I've owned since I was 18. Including a total flush of the coolant with cleaner agents and distilled water rinses.
Crawling under and checking for leaks/rust/tears is what I would consider standard practice.
IF the TX is soaking wet i might be weary considering I don't have the equipment to pull a tx and start replacing seals. Simple things like output seals or pinion seals are no biggie. But if its oil from back of engine or ATF from front of tranny i might have to walk away.
If I were to buy it, my first round of maintenance would be:
-fuel filter
-water pump
-thermostat
-IAC valve (as mentioned, has idle issue)
-COPs and plugs
-Drain(not flush) the tx with new filter. If I have the TC drain plug I'll drain it, if not i wont worry about it.
-all other fluids (flushing oil and coolant systems)
Just to have a good baseline to go off of knowing whats been done.

Apart from that I was only wondering specific "problem" areas you guys might have a better knowledge of, which you've given me a good start with the asking about blowout and checking the ODO and upper console, as well as outer head gaskets for oil leaks.

If anyone has anything else to add, feel free. Thanks!

 

I actually changed the swaybar links in my friends '01 f150 not too long ago. brought it to me complaining about a clanking on bumps went under to find both sides had lost their bushings and were essentially rattling freely not holding any tension. Maybe i should budget for those as well

(If you cant tell, I'm trying to come up with things to point out that need replacing or upkeep in an attempt to drive the price as far down as i can.)

 

I bought my 02 in 09 and it had 69k miles on it. I replaced all the filters and fluids with the exception of the diff fluids then. The 02 TC does not have a drain plug like the earlier models. My 2000 did. I drop the pan and change the filter and add about 4 1/2 qts to refill every 20k miles. If you want to get it all, dump and refill the pan, disconnect the return line to the tranny and run the engine and refill until you get all the old fluid out.

My truck was trouble free until about 130k miles. Since then, I've replaced the front lower ball joints, all 4 tie rod ends, idler arm, swaybar end link bushings, and the right rear axle and bearing. The bearing rides on the axle so a bad bearing scores the axle. I haven't repaired my overhead console and odometer yet. I also replaced the brake calipers, master cylinder, all 5 flexible brake hoses, and cleaned and lubed the parking brake mechanism to get rid of sticking brakes.

I just drove my truck Blue Boy from Wilmington NC to Denver Co. It's doing great so far!! Knock on Wood!!! I'm retired and my wife who is much younger is still working. She took off a week. I'm picking her up at the airport today and we are exploring Wyoming and areas for a week. Afterwards I plan to do a little more exploring and take my time going home.

 

I've read mixed reviews on totally flushing older auto transmissions. I've only ever owned manuals since i started doing maintenance so there's that. Something about especially if the fluid hasn't been changed regularly, the old fluid mixed with new(from simple drain) might actually be better than a full flush because of particles suspended in the old fluid. again that depends on if the fluid has been changes regularly or not from what I've read.

Overall those items seem relatively expected. cant expect all the joints to last a lifetime. And its all things I could do myself; parts are cheap, shop labour isn't

If i were to buy the truck first thing I'd do is put it up and give the wheels a shake. If the rears have any play, I mean I'll be in the diff housing to change the fluid anyways, may as well take it a step further and pull the axles and swap the bearings/seals. Especially if the diff fluid is gnarly looking.

 

I'd be very concerned about body and chassis rust on a 15 year old truck

 

Rust is essentially non-existant on body. Chassis will probably also be fairly clean since they dont salt the winter roads here. Of course there will be some surface rust at least but nothing major i doubt. Again, a good rust check is something I'd consider standard.

 

One more minor issue i had with mine is the blower motor resistor going out. the blower would only run on high speed. Advance Auto Parts had the resistor in stock and it was easy to change ou.

 

Okay so i went and saw the truck today. Overall pretty good condition for an ex work truck. Nice colour/amount atf. Recent but not brand new oil change.
The output seal on the transfer case is leaking a bit. Simple enough to pull the driveshaft and replace that. Oil film around passemger side valve cover. Looks like a combo of the PCV seal and the valve cover gasket. Also not too bad to change i assume. All fluids proper level and no coolant/oil contam. No oil on the starter (would be indicitave of a HG leak ive read). No notchy shifts. Console and ODO work.

Plugged my code reader in and got these 8 codes:
P0172
P0135
P0156
P0158
P1130
P1131
P1132
P1151

Did some basic research and essentially looks like bad O2 sensors or a MAF/IAC/EGR that need cleaning. Either that or bad cats? If anyone has any further insight on those codes that would be great.

 

Alright. I bought the truck. Body is in less than desirable shape (Ex work truck) but theres no rust at all. Ended up getting it for 1900CAD (~1400USD).
After taking it home, first (and only) thing I did was pull the IAC off to clean it while I wait for my rockauto order, and pulled the battery terminals off to clean up some corrosion (which inevitably reset the engine codes.). It's been two days driving now and the only code that's came back up is P1131.
So from 8 codes to 1.
Could a dirty IAC really do that much? Like maybe if it was sticking open sometimes and closed others, causing the lean and rich condition codes?

 

IAC issues don't cause lean or rich codes, it will cause an erratic idle, stalls, and/or high idle.

http://www.autocodes.com/p1131_ford.html

Lack of Upstream Heated Oxygen Sensor Switch Sensor Indicates Lean Bank 1

Possible causes
- Faulty Upstream Oxygen Sensor Bank 1 (passenger side)
- Fuel pressure high or low
- MAF sensor dirty/defective
- Vacuum leak on engine
- Leaking fuel injector or fuel pressure regulator
- Faulty Powertrain Control Module (PCM)

The code means that the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) has detected a lean system, which means that there is either not enough fuel or and excessive amount of air in the system. Start by checking for vacuum leaks.

 

You dont think an iac sticking one way or the other could cause the O2 sensors to tell the comouter to compensate one way or the other? I mean thats why im asking i just figured if it was metering too much air at idle it would try to compensate with more fuel and then if it suddenly unsticks the computer has to readjust etc etc.
I have a full set of O2 sensors on the way as well as fuel filter and mastercraft pcv. Cleaned the maf and the code stayed (not surprising).
What are some problem areas to check for vacuum leaks on these engines? I dont have a proper tester and i dont really want to spray around the bay with carb cleaner TOO much...